Cheyco Leidmann Foxy Lady
“Each frame has its own pacing, rules, and emotions, reflecting the specific time.” -CL
Cheyco Leidmann established a cutting edge style of visual expressionism with hyper-real colors that leap off the page and sear the brain with Foxy Lady.Each picture invents a provocative, jarring story that begs for an interpretation. From the harsh desert landscapes of the American Wild West to pristine polar locations; from the marshes of the Camargue to cityscapes as New York, these images feature the surreal stiletto-heeled, latex-clad women who challenge the viewer to read the images as unique events. Leidmann shot women without revealing their faces or heads, forcing the viewer to interpret the exposures through the body language, the codes, which women use to speak to onlookers. In Foxy Lady, familiar vistas become nightmares of sensuality and sexual symbolism. Leidmann’s compositions harken back to Picasso’s three-eyed women; Ken Russell’s The Devils; Dali’s The Persistence of Memory; and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
“Color must be able to shock, like an avalanche.”-CL
After his film academy and screenplay writing period and before home PCs, before photoshopping,before photo manipulation, Leidmann rocked the world of photography with his seminal, groundbreaking work. The profusion of color dazzles with a splendor that stimulates the viewer’s visual cortex. The skies blaze like supercharged neon. Though these colors are common in the 21st Century, they were ultramodern in 1980. His vibrant palette , filled with pure tones-tyrian purple,steel gray,cobalt blue, rally red or yellow as bright as gold nuggets, focuses on women as conceptual works of art. Leidmann promotes their vital energy. His women rebel against convention; they show off a decadent sophistication, an aggressive eroticism. Cheyco Leidmann's trademark name stands for the strength and power of the images and the quality and vigor of his work .His masterpiece bestseller Foxy Lady, an event in the universe of publishing,was chosen by Vogue as one of nine cult classic books of the last five decades.Foxy Lady continues to have a worldwide impact. Its often-reproduced images have influenced a generation of photographers, musicians, film-makers, designers, artists and creative directors. It remains immediately recognizable. Cheyco Leidmann lives and works in Paris and the USA with his collaborator Ypsitylla Von Nazareth.
C H E Y C O L E I D M A N NFOXY LADY Cheyco Leidmann vit et travaille entre les Etats-Unis et la France avec sa collaboratrice crèative Ypsitylla von Nazareth. Dans ses oeuvres, il met en scène un univers érotique et burlesque : son théâtre emprunte des chemins fantastiques et surréalistes où le spectateur est invité à pénétrer avec humour. Ces représentations souvent dérangeantes, parfois cauchemardesques, renvoient aux tabous de notre société, aux vices des hommes et à l’actualité brûlante. Cheyco Leidmann dit lui-même: « Je révèle l’importance de l’abîme. J’essaie de mettre en scène l’absurdité de notre époque (…) Quand mon travail réussit à capter l’attention, j’ai le sentiment d’avoir accompli ma mission ».
Dans la série «Foxy Lady», loin de toute vision apocalyptique, Cheyco Leidmann se joue ainsi de nos stéréotypes et de nos fantasmes: ses images surexposées, aux contrastes acidulés peignent un portrait du féminin où la séduction côtoie la violence, où l’exubérance s’affiche avec ironie. Cheyco Leidmann nous offre un lumineux voyage dans la culture américaine.
La mélodie de Jimi Hendrix n’est pas loin, l’imaginaire nous porte, entre glamour et décadence.